When Should We Belong?

Research establishes the importance of the orientation and transition period to university student engagement and success. Similarly, a sense of belonging is a foundational concept to support those same outcomes and is a particular focus for improving the experience of students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Research indicates that a key mechanism for supporting student success lies in enhancing a sense of belonging. With an understanding that sense of belonging fluctuates and declines over time, it is vital to not just intentionally include activities that enhance sense of belonging but also measure it across university-wide populations from commencement onwards. Through the understanding of the psychological aspect of the student lifecycle, alongside an understanding of transition and retention motivation, we proposed that targeted interventions should be implemented during transition to support the success of students throughout their studies. Given the limited timeframe during which institutions must support student sense of belonging, it is vital to intentionally design and measure sense of belonging activities and interventions during the orientation period to support student success. Here we build on previous research on both orientation programmes and sense of belonging interventions, and discuss the importance of designing orientation activities to support an increased sense of belonging.